The Big Ten Conference fall sports teams, including football, will play conference-only schedules, the conference announced Thursday.
Both ESPN and The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach, who was the first to break the news, reported the major college football development prior to the announcement.
The Big Ten’s move is the first by a Power 5 conference amid the talk of the coronavirus pandemic and includes all fall sports not just football.
“We are facing uncertain and unprecedented times, and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, game officials, and others associated with our sports programs and campuses remain our number one priority,” statement read.
If sports are a go this fall, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball will move to the conference-only format.
“By limiting competition to other Big Ten institutions, the conference will have the greatest flexibility to adjust its own operations throughout the season and make quick decisions in real-time based on the most current evolving medical advice and the fluid nature of the pandemic.”
The conference also announced that summer athletic activities will continue to be voluntary in all sports currently permitted to engage in such activities.
“We are also prepared not to play in order to ensure the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes should the circumstances so dictate,” the statement read.
According to ESPN, Big Ten presidents and athletics directors met for in a conference call earlier this week, while head coaches met Thursday morning.
The idea of a conference-only schedule eliminates travel while also making sure opponents are being tested for COVID-19 “universally,” multiple sources told ESPN.
While the conference-only model got the majority of the support, there were those inside the conference in favor of one additional non-league game, but the “majority” is for the 10-game slate.
How other Power 5 conferences react could determine the fate of college football in the upcoming season. Michigan’s season opener at Washington and Ohio State’s trip to Oregon in Week 2 as well as Notre Dame-Wisconsin on Oct. 3 are now on the chopping block.
So, what does that mean for the Irish, an independent?
If the conference-only model is taken on by other, David Teel of Richmond Times Dispatch reports ACC commisioner John Swofford has said Notre Dame “would be in the mix,” due to six games already scheduled by the Irish against the conference.
The news comes a day after the Ivy League announced that it will not play fall sports, including football.
As a result of the Ivy League’s decision, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Wednesday night he’s “been optimistic, but I’m prepared that optimism is not reality.”
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.
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